Jacqueline McCarrick's The Mushroom Pickers, the story of a London actress who returns to Ireland to get her hands dirty in the soil of her homeland, will make its American premiere Feb. 12-28 in New York City.

The Equity showcase production is produced by alloy theater company, which staged the cabaret premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Tell Me On a Sunday in 2008 at the Laurie Beechman Theatre.

According to alloy theater company, "Set in the border 'bandit' country of County Monaghan, The Mushroom Pickers tells the story of Laura, an aspiring actress who's left her career in London because her life has unexpectedly changed course. A self-confessed 'square peg in a round hole,' she returns to her homeland in search of her place in life. She joins her father, Philip, a lovable and ebullient widower, to work in the mushroom tunnels…

"Frank McElroy, owner of the nursery and proponent of the exotic mushroom, takes a shine to Laura and shares with her his dream of wooing the restaurateurs of Ireland and beyond, thanks to the verdant soil of his land and its 'allegedly' unique compost… But Frank has a secret, and so does Laura…"

The Mushroom Pickers, which was critically acclaimed in London, will play The Gene Frankel Theater on Bond Street in New York City. Playwright Jacqueline McCarrick is a graduate of Middlesex University and Trinity College, Dublin. Her first play, The Mushroom Pickers, won the 2005 Scottish Drama Association's National Playwriting Competition and premiered at the Southwark Playhouse in London in May 2006. Her second play, The Moth-Hour, was short-listed for the Sphinx Playwriting Award, and had a rehearsed reading at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York in January 2007. She has also published poetry and short stories and was Writer-in-Residence at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre for the Pushkin Trust in July 2007. Her latest play, Leopoldville, is slated for the London stage in 2009.

Performances will play Wednesday-Saturday at 8 PM. Tickets are $18 and go on sale on Jan. 14 by calling (866) 811-4111.

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The alloy theater company is a non-profit theatre in New York City. Founded in 2008 by Maxine Linehan and Michelle Pruett, the mission of the company is to bind together seemingly disparate elements to create dynamic theatre through the production of new plays, innovative revivals and original works.